Syria carried out "egregious human rights violations" last year, according to a State Department assessment released on Thursday that also singled out abuses in Russia and the Ukraine.

The 2013 Human Rights Report, based on assessments from America's embassies abroad, reserved its strongest language for the Syrian government, which allegedly gassed its own people last August in an atrocity linked to the ongoing civil war.

"Hundreds were murdered in the dead of night when a disaster occurred at the hands of a dictator, who decided to infect the air of Damascus with poisonous gas," Secretary of State John Kerry said in presenting the report.

"And many more have been, unfortunately, confined to die under a barrage of barrel bombs, scud missiles, artillery and other conventional weapons," he said.
Russia also was featured prominently in the report for cracking down on activists and enactment of a law banning gay "propaganda."

Russia was also called out for alleged abuses related to the Olympics in Sochi where, according to the report, "human rights activists documented evidence of forced labor of migrant workers."

The study said such reports "were widespread and included nonpayment or severely delayed payment of wages, excessively long hours, and withholding of passports and identity documents."

The report also praised protesters in Ukraine for their demonstrations, while calling out that government's former leaders.

"Today we re-affirm our commitment to stand with the many who seek dignity and against the few who deny it," said Kerry, "That's how we live up to our ideals."

Many are struggling to come to grips with the rapid political upheaval that has unfolded there in recent days, after months of protests and last week's bloody clashes between protesters and security forces.

There is broad divide between those who support events in Kiev, where a new government is leaning toward the West, and those who back Russia's continued influence in eastern and southern Ukraine.

LGBT discrimination was a recurring topic in the report.

"From Nigeria to Russia to Iran," said Kerry, "indeed in some 80 countries the world over, LGBT communities face discriminatory laws and practices that attack their basic human dignity and undermine their safety."

In the report and in his statements to the media, Kerry also called out the Ugandan government and President Yoweri Museveni, for a law signed this week to criminalize homosexuality.

"These laws contribute to a global trend of rising violence and discrimination against LGBT persons and their supporters," said Kerry.

You can either be a bit,walk on actor in somebody else's play or you can star in your own. Hillary Clinton's mom's advice kicks in on what decisions are being made and time for Obama to let the American people know what the sanctions are. Did the US jets fly into Poland and is that confirmed for truth ? Show us where they landed !

Because there is still a word JIHAD in the Great Holy Koran, Iranians will always be busy fighting all the peoples of other countries, not excluding the EVER GREAT U.S.A, and by ways of making the non Iranians fight and destroy the people and interests of U.S.A ,which is but the very primitive ways and means of showing up their colors,which they can never hide.

while that might be true. we people have to foot some of it on our self. it seems like when things that are going on all we the people say stay out of it. then when oboma does you say he's weak just like with syria. this president can't win for losing/ he heard what the people wanted and even went to congress so, if we look weak we are doing it also/..

America is the root of all terror. America has invaded sixty countries since world war 2.
In 1953 America overthrow Iran's democratic government Mohammad Mosaddegh and installed a brutal dictator Shah. America helped Shah of Iran to establish secret police and killed thousands of Iranian people.
During Iran-Iraq war evil America supported Suddam Hossain and killed millions of Iranian people. In 1989, America, is the only country ever, shot down Iran's civilian air plane, killing 290 people.
In 2003,America invaded Iraq and killed 1,000,000+ innocent Iraqi people and 4,000,000+ Iraqi people were displaced.
Now America is a failed state with huge debt. Its debt will be 22 trillion by 2015.

You relize the -(N-S-A)- aka the -(n-i-g-g-e-r– s-e-c-u-r-i-t-y–a-g-e-n-c-y)–does not allow people to say anything "inteligent" period. they (military) does this by occupying U.S. citizens home among many other things.

More right-wing propaganda from the right-wing thugs in Washington which should surprise no one with half a brain! Does anyone hear notice how they conveniently forget to mention Bahrain, Yemen, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and lot of other countries that they like? This never ends!!!

It seems sometimes our government just takes the opposite side of anything that Russia feels strongly about, just for the sake of doing it. That's wrong and I don't like that, but what can we do? We write our comments of course to show our displeasure.

You're absolutely correct that appearances are that 'nothing is being done' except taunting. If I can give you a piece of advice it is: Prepare. I'm not stating we are an in imminent state of danger, but with things being as they are and all it would take is a couple of nuclear weapons detonated high above the continental US and the power grip would snap like a model plane made of balsa wood.
Prepare. Prepare your home. Your family. Yourself. Don't panic, but prepare.

After Obammys red line back down, Lurch doesn't have a chance, lets say Russia attacks. Whats Obammy and lurch going to do ??? Make a speech?? cut military spending ??? Remember the world knows OBAMMY won BIGGEST LIAR OF THE YEAR.

ff u cc kk you kerry you want a fight we will give you one you Irish Norwegian J e w i s h Dublin potato farmer loser your messing with the wrong people you think you can be angry with us your children will be the ones that will boil away in a nuclear sea of flames i will rip out your amygdala and hypothalamus and your frontal lobes out of your brain then we will see how angry you can be without your anger centers in your brain your messing with the wrong people.

Our more evolved descendents will realize that we humans of the 21st century do not yet completely understand and control our primal, hereditary influences of anger, hate, violence, territorialism, and predation.

Our more evolved descendents, looking back at us with sadness and scorn, will realize that our world citizens and leaders should have condemned, long before now, ALL hate and violence and barbaric wars against ANY fellow, equally perfect, feeling, living being.

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CNN's Security Clearance examines national and global security, terrorism and intelligence, as well as the economic, military, political and diplomatic effects of it around the globe, with contributions from CNN's national security team in Washington and CNN journalists around the world.